| Pokemon / Move / Ability |  Final Verdict | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fake Out | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | 5-0-0 |
 Debuff moves | Restrict | Abstain | Do Not Restrict | Do Not Restrict | Do Not Restrict | 1-1-3 |
Despite not having reliable recovery, the Giratinas may potentially be the most impactful of the tested mons. In Giratina you would find a solid check to Rain and Sun teams, the oppressive Iron Moth, and notable Bulk Up users like Great Tusk and Quaquaval. Furthermore, Defog would remove all of screens, terrains and hazards, while also potentially enabling hazard stack of its own. Shuffle, status + Hex, and a strong Shadow Sneak are fantastic options to consider as well.
Solgaleo’s tools are an embarrassment of riches. With sturdy bulk, good typing, great utility in Trick Room, PsyFangs, Knock Off and Stealth Rock (among others), and Morning Sun it can attempt to wall, and with Teleport it can make a fine offensive or defensive pivot. Pinch berries and wide variety of coverage options might make it a potent lure. Another fantastic trait Solg might bring to the format is its immunity to stat debuffs, making it immune to Parting Shot, Screech, Fake Tears and the like. Its set up options are limited; it has Iron Defense and Cosmic Power but no Body Press, Calm Mind, but no Stored Power, which will (hopefully) keep offensive sets from going wild.
Lastly, we have humble Lugia. Generally agreed to be the least broken of the four to be tested, while bulky, its Multiscale is heavily nerfed by the premise by virtue of double attacks. It has boosting options such as Calm Mind and Curse, but weaker offenses. Still, perhaps Lugia’s impressive defensive profile might find some use in the Linked meta.Yippee, fake out is dead!!! I have a feeling someone will turn the potentially freed legendaries into HO mons, but thats just a theory. Person might be me idkHi everyone!
The March Linked OMotM ladder has come to an end. It was a great month. Thank you all for your kind words and support, everybody!
There’s a bit of housekeeping to do. First, we now have a dedicated Linked Discord. It’s still a work in progress, but come talk about the meta, find games, get tour info, discuss potential OM mashup ups or just hang out.
Next, we have some usage stats for the month of March.
Full March usage stats here.
Total battles: 45044
Avg. weight/team: 1.000
+ ---- + ------------------ + --------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Usage % | Raw | % | Real | % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + --------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- +
| 1 | Great Tusk | 20.50551% | 18473 | 20.506% | 12520 | 18.555% |
| 2 | Dragapult | 20.20136% | 18199 | 20.201% | 13597 | 20.151% |
| 3 | Kingambit | 14.76778% | 13304 | 14.768% | 9515 | 14.101% |
| 4 | Corviknight | 12.29687% | 11078 | 12.297% | 9070 | 13.442% |
| 5 | Ogerpon-Wellspring | 12.28799% | 11070 | 12.288% | 7887 | 11.689% |
| 6 | Weavile | 12.13258% | 10930 | 12.133% | 8306 | 12.310% |
| 7 | Hatterene | 12.10372% | 10904 | 12.104% | 8327 | 12.341% |
| 8 | Iron Moth | 11.72742% | 10565 | 11.727% | 7522 | 11.148% |
| 9 | Zamazenta | 11.59422% | 10445 | 11.594% | 7406 | 10.976% |
| 10 | Gholdengo | 11.45991% | 10324 | 11.460% | 7678 | 11.379% |
| 11 | Grimmsnarl | 11.18018% | 10072 | 11.180% | 8702 | 12.897% |
| 12 | Quaquaval | 10.37652% | 9348 | 10.377% | 6558 | 9.719% |
| 13 | Rillaboom | 10.24665% | 9231 | 10.247% | 7112 | 10.540% |
| 14 | Regieleki | 9.74159% | 8776 | 9.742% | 6761 | 10.020% |
| 15 | Alomomola | 9.58618% | 8636 | 9.586% | 6616 | 9.805% |
| 16 | Lokix | 8.76698% | 7898 | 8.767% | 6423 | 9.519% |
| 17 | Iron Valiant | 8.62268% | 7768 | 8.623% | 5604 | 8.305% |
| 18 | Clefable | 8.03437% | 7238 | 8.034% | 5367 | 7.954% |
| 19 | Ribombee | 8.02105% | 7226 | 8.021% | 6387 | 9.466% |
| 20 | Pecharunt | 7.78128% | 7010 | 7.781% | 5261 | 7.797% |
| 21 | Ceruledge | 7.68582% | 6924 | 7.686% | 5079 | 7.527% |
| 22 | Glimmora | 7.68471% | 6923 | 7.685% | 5458 | 8.089% |
| 23 | Raging Bolt | 7.64364% | 6886 | 7.644% | 5188 | 7.689% |
| 24 | Slowking-Galar | 7.63365% | 6877 | 7.634% | 5412 | 8.021% |
| 25 | Deoxys-Speed | 7.20296% | 6489 | 7.203% | 5063 | 7.504% |
| 26 | Skeledirge | 7.11305% | 6408 | 7.113% | 4818 | 7.140% |
| 27 | Serperior | 7.05754% | 6358 | 7.058% | 4355 | 6.454% |
| 28 | Greninja | 6.44481% | 5806 | 6.445% | 4205 | 6.232% |
| 29 | Kyurem | 6.38265% | 5750 | 6.383% | 4004 | 5.934% |
| 30 | Landorus-Therian | 5.98082% | 5388 | 5.981% | 4360 | 6.462% |
| 31 | Garchomp | 5.72551% | 5158 | 5.726% | 4253 | 6.303% |
| 32 | Samurott-Hisui | 5.72218% | 5155 | 5.722% | 4259 | 6.312% |
| 33 | Ursaluna | 5.54014% | 4991 | 5.540% | 3726 | 5.522% |
| 34 | Iron Crown | 5.41804% | 4881 | 5.418% | 3649 | 5.408% |
| 35 | Ting-Lu | 5.11944% | 4612 | 5.119% | 3820 | 5.661% |
| 36 | Deoxys-Defense | 5.01732% | 4520 | 5.017% | 3628 | 5.377% |
| 37 | Darkrai | 4.90853% | 4422 | 4.909% | 3265 | 4.839% |
| 38 | Hoopa-Unbound | 4.84082% | 4361 | 4.841% | 3123 | 4.628% |
| 39 | Tornadus-Therian | 4.75091% | 4280 | 4.751% | 3409 | 5.052% |
| 40 | Maushold | 4.72205% | 4254 | 4.722% | 2971 | 4.403% |
| 41 | Iron Treads | 4.52669% | 4078 | 4.527% | 3149 | 4.667% |
| 42 | Cinderace | 4.44454% | 4004 | 4.445% | 2842 | 4.212% |
| 43 | Heatran | 4.19701% | 3781 | 4.197% | 3016 | 4.470% |
| 44 | Terapagos | 4.18924% | 3774 | 4.189% | 2655 | 3.935% |
| 45 | Mew | 4.18702% | 3772 | 4.187% | 3081 | 4.566% |
| 46 | Scizor | 4.14040% | 3730 | 4.140% | 2966 | 4.396% |
| 47 | Gliscor | 4.00164% | 3605 | 4.002% | 2825 | 4.187% |
| 48 | Kommo-o | 3.97500% | 3581 | 3.975% | 2371 | 3.514% |
| 49 | Bellibolt | 3.96057% | 3568 | 3.961% | 2808 | 4.162% |
| 50 | Enamorus | 3.86067% | 3478 | 3.861% | 2464 | 3.652% |
| 51 | Dondozo | 3.80406% | 3427 | 3.804% | 2595 | 3.846% |
| 52 | Dragonite | 3.71748% | 3349 | 3.717% | 2475 | 3.668% |
| 53 | Smeargle | 3.70971% | 3342 | 3.710% | 3113 | 4.614% |
| 54 | Talonflame | 3.44330% | 3102 | 3.443% | 2370 | 3.512% |
| 55 | Latios | 3.41888% | 3080 | 3.419% | 2233 | 3.309% |
| 56 | Primarina | 3.38003% | 3045 | 3.380% | 2286 | 3.388% |
| 57 | Goodra-Hisui | 3.23684% | 2916 | 3.237% | 2293 | 3.398% |
| 58 | Comfey | 3.22795% | 2908 | 3.228% | 2101 | 3.114% |
| 59 | Pelipper | 3.21907% | 2900 | 3.219% | 2500 | 3.705% |
| 60 | Empoleon | 3.21463% | 2896 | 3.215% | 2146 | 3.180% |
| 61 | Tornadus | 3.13249% | 2822 | 3.132% | 2136 | 3.166% |
| 62 | Braviary-Hisui | 3.13138% | 2821 | 3.131% | 1897 | 2.811% |
| 63 | Mimikyu | 3.12583% | 2816 | 3.126% | 2136 | 3.166% |
| 64 | Zapdos | 3.00262% | 2705 | 3.003% | 2079 | 3.081% |
| 65 | Tyranitar | 2.70957% | 2441 | 2.710% | 1873 | 2.776% |
| 66 | Clodsire | 2.60745% | 2349 | 2.607% | 1836 | 2.721% |
| 67 | Manaphy | 2.59191% | 2335 | 2.592% | 1699 | 2.518% |
| 68 | Garganacl | 2.47536% | 2230 | 2.475% | 1618 | 2.398% |
| 69 | Moltres | 2.35103% | 2118 | 2.351% | 1717 | 2.545% |
| 70 | Diancie | 2.29331% | 2066 | 2.293% | 1404 | 2.081% |
| 71 | Kingdra | 2.24558% | 2023 | 2.246% | 1421 | 2.106% |
| 72 | Meowscarada | 2.23781% | 2016 | 2.238% | 1532 | 2.270% |
| 73 | Kilowattrel | 2.14457% | 1932 | 2.145% | 1674 | 2.481% |
| 74 | Walking Wake | 2.10017% | 1892 | 2.100% | 1327 | 1.967% |
| 75 | Iron Hands | 2.06354% | 1859 | 2.064% | 1399 | 2.073% |
| 76 | Porygon-Z | 1.96031% | 1766 | 1.960% | 1152 | 1.707% |
| 77 | Volbeat | 1.93477% | 1743 | 1.935% | 1561 | 2.313% |
| 78 | Krookodile | 1.91812% | 1728 | 1.918% | 1267 | 1.878% |
| 79 | Azumarill | 1.85818% | 1674 | 1.858% | 1260 | 1.867% |
| 80 | Sinistcha | 1.77271% | 1597 | 1.773% | 1171 | 1.735% |
| 81 | Ogerpon-Cornerstone | 1.71166% | 1542 | 1.712% | 1138 | 1.687% |
| 82 | Arcanine-Hisui | 1.70389% | 1535 | 1.704% | 1165 | 1.727% |
| 83 | Araquanid | 1.66726% | 1502 | 1.667% | 1285 | 1.904% |
| 84 | Whimsicott | 1.66282% | 1498 | 1.663% | 1183 | 1.753% |
| 85 | Flapple | 1.60510% | 1446 | 1.605% | 960 | 1.423% |
| 86 | Incineroar | 1.57180% | 1416 | 1.572% | 1171 | 1.735% |
| 87 | Metagross | 1.49742% | 1349 | 1.497% | 1013 | 1.501% |
| 88 | Cresselia | 1.49298% | 1345 | 1.493% | 932 | 1.381% |
| 89 | Excadrill | 1.48188% | 1335 | 1.482% | 946 | 1.402% |
| 90 | Iron Boulder | 1.37865% | 1242 | 1.379% | 834 | 1.236% |
| 91 | Thundurus | 1.35423% | 1220 | 1.354% | 972 | 1.441% |
| 92 | Kleavor | 1.34979% | 1216 | 1.350% | 980 | 1.452% |
| 93 | Weezing-Galar | 1.33203% | 1200 | 1.332% | 961 | 1.424% |
| 94 | Keldeo | 1.29984% | 1171 | 1.300% | 846 | 1.254% |
| 95 | Thundurus-Therian | 1.28652% | 1159 | 1.287% | 793 | 1.175% |
| 96 | Ambipom | 1.28208% | 1155 | 1.282% | 910 | 1.349% |
| 97 | Espathra | 1.25655% | 1132 | 1.257% | 792 | 1.174% |
| 98 | Volcanion | 1.23768% | 1115 | 1.238% | 876 | 1.298% |
| 99 | Jolteon | 1.22991% | 1108 | 1.230% | 839 | 1.243% |
| 100 | Tinkaton | 1.21437% | 1094 | 1.214% | 857 | 1.270% |
Wowie, 45K games for a non-permanent ladder! That’s pretty dang good.
Feedback from the player base was largely positive, yet there remains a few ongoing points of constructive criticism with the meta that we would like to address. First, let’s rip off this band-aid:
Council Vote #5
Pokemon / Move / Ability
Fake Out
Debuff moves
Fake Out has been restricted from Linked!So long Fake Out spam teams, you’ll be missed by no one. Debuff moves like Acid Spray, Fake Tears, Metal Sound and Screech live on.
Next, on to the deeper issue with the meta—
the same question posed by Giagantic to us upon the Gen 9 Linked revival submission:
“How would you balance this metagame? Just accept the countless 1hko scenarios that are bound to happen from time to time?”
Indeed, a month of testing has illustrated that the premise inherently is advantageous to faster Pokemon. Those who get to move first gain the advantage of acting twice, potentially KOing their opponent before they can move or setting up a snowballing game ending sweep. The Linked mechanic will always leave defensive playstyles such as balance and stall on the backfoot. While HO playstyle games are fast paced and fun, they are also very much matchup dependent and prone to being counter-teamed.
While the meta is roughly as balanced as an HO meta can hope to be, and very fun, it is most certainly matchup fishy. What can be done?
There have been a few suggestions to help alleviate this issue:
- Alter the premise, lowering the power of offensive Linked attacks (similar to how Parental Bond functions).
- Ban the meta of its most oppressive offensive tools, such as Meteor Beam, Bulk Up and debuff moves.
- Improve balance and stall playstyles by unbanning the Pokemon that benefit those archetypes the most, giving the meta more solids defensive cores to revolve around.
Of these, Option 1 is a nuclear option that would fundamentally remake the meta. Option 2 is viable, but would require more suspect tests, which are difficult to do without a ladder. Option 3 however might nerf HO to the point that Option 2 becomes unnecessary.
With the intent to buff balance and stall in mind, the Linked council intends to hold a test tournament where several defensive pieces will be trialed. The Pokemon to be tested in this tour will include:
Can these mighty beasts possibly be considered healthy in Linked? What could these Pokemon add to the meta?
The logistics and timing of the test tournament remain to be decided. Stay tuned for the tour post in the coming days, and in the mean time, feel free to discuss the potential of the four Ubers, the usage stats and celebrate the death of Fake Out spam. :)
dhelmise please install
